Second Chance
by NakanoHana
Summary: Axel doesn't know what he wants out of college, or life persay. He certainly didn't WANT to find his roommate passed out in his own blood on THEIR bathroom floor, but who knows? Maybe he'll find the focus he's looking for. angsty but it'll get better. r
1. Chapter 1

This is gonna be a short little story from Axel's point of view, maybe only a few more chapters. Dedicated to all those out there who have ever felt, for one reason or another, that they didn't belong, they shouldn't exist, they weren't loved, etc. I don't own kingdom hearts or anything by square enix. Let me know what you think.

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I always thought that college was going to be some of the best times of my life. I wasn't the most active kid out there; I hung out with a bunch of nerds and played tennis on some days, but that was about it. And I thought that I'd be happy with all of that.

The truth was that everything these days seemed so mundane and even painful. Just the slow cycle of wake up, go for a morning walk, eat, go to class, come home, and sleep with few alterations in between. It was like being on a dusty road in the middle of the desert, and not even the rain could really break the ground anymore.

And then he came along. It was sophomore year for me. I was moving into my first apartment off campus, mostly because the damn housing office fucked up the contracts and gave me the short end of the stick. So here I was; getting a shitty little place maybe 10 minutes from all my classes. There were cracks in the wall I'd probably end up paying for, and the bathroom was a nightmare I was too tired to deal with for the first week or so of moving in.

Surprisingly enough, though, it was homey; and the fact that it was all mine meant something to me.

Well, not _completely _mine. The place was a two bedroom apartment with one bathroom and a nice little common area. I'd gone the random route and was apparently getting some little transfer kid for the room next door. I hadn't thought much about it at the time though...

I saw him once or twice on move-in day. He seemed like a nice enough kid; a little too quiet for me though. I'm pretty extroverted by nature, so my mouth is usually running a mile a minute. Whether or not that's a good thing, I never stop to think about it much. I think that was my problem for a while, never stopping to notice the little things. Anyway...where was I?

Oh yeah. Moving in. Roxas seemed like a sweet enough kid to me, but again, the quiet thing was a bit of a turn off. He kept to himself a lot, but that was better than a partying roommate, I guess. He had the cutest face, but he's thin and short and never looked me in the eye much when I asked him stuff. His eyes were gorgeous, but they always seemed a little sad to me...

We talked about stuff every now and then. Sometimes I'd come home and find him making pasta or something and ask him how his day went. He always said "Fine," or "Good," and asked me back, and of course, I'd ramble on for a bit about it. It wasn't uber exciting shit, but hey, I like to talk things out. Especially when I've got issues. And Roxy always listened well enough. Sometimes he even gave me advice, which was cool, but we never delved very far into his personal life. I remember hearing about his brother once, I think; he's a twin, apparently. That's cool. Reno and me, we're sort of like twins, except he's got big brother syndrome something awful and smothers me to death since my mom's too busy these days!

Sorry. Does it seem like I'm going on a tangent too much? I think I might have a bit of ADD or something, but I never bothered to check it out. Anyways, back to the story.

So we sort of talked, but mostly kept to ourselves. I figured he had his own life and his own friends to deal with, and we were just different guys. It was a snap judgement on my part, but hey, if there were signs, I sure as hell didn't see them! He was a quiet kid, but I never figured something was up or anything!

And this all came to a head one day. I came home from a late evening tennis match with Demyx. I swear, the guy sweats rivers and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with his racket! But I come in, flip the tv on, put an easy lean cuisine in the microwave and plop down on the couch for a while. I flip to comedy central and watch both Stewart and Colbert. Since I don't watch the news much, I gotta get my daily dose of politics somewhere, as awful as that sounds. And I figure watching both of them gives me a decent balance of the political spectrum.

Before you get on me about that, yes, okay? I know it's satire! I'd probably find it funnier if I knew what the hell they were referencing in the first place, but right then I was just too tired to care...

The shitty old couch was way too comfy for its own good. The next thing I know, it's been 15 minutes and my food is already starting to cool down in the microwave. I pull it out and set it on the cheap table quickly, not caring if I spill any, and go to grab a ginger ale from the fridge.

"Hey Rox, you home?" I shouted, just wondering if he'd gotten the mail or if Id have to go and get it myself at some point.

The place was silent, except for the the roar of the tv and the little buzz you always hear when you stand close to the ice maker and listen hard. That was odd. Usually, Roxas was home by now, buried in his room doing whatever the heck he does at night. I shrugged, not really caring either way, and took a large gulp of the cold beverage in my hand. I sighed and was about to move back to the couch, when all of the sudden I felt nature calling.

Damn. And we were just getting back from commercial too...

I grumbled and wandered back down the hall, only to find the bathroom door partially shut. There was a little crack, so it wasn't completely shut or locked, but that was weird. I had thought Roxy and I had worked out a strict open door policy when it came to the bathroom.

"Rox?" I asked hesitantly, knocking on the door. Unless he was going in there in the dark, there shouldn't be a reason for the door being closed like that. And I couldn't imagine _any _guy pissing in the dark who wasn't drunk or half asleep, and it was too early, even at night, for Roxas to be either one of those. Besides, as far as I knew, the kid didn't drink.

"Rox? You in there?" I asked again, getting a little more desperate now. I started to push the door open and reached to flip on the light.

"I'm coming in, so you better...be..."

And that's when I finally figured out there was something wrong with the kid. It's not a sin to be quiet or a little bit introverted, but even I knew that finding your roommate passed out on the floor of the bathroom, surrounded by little pools of blood was hardly normal.


	2. Chapter 2

I freaked immediately and ran for the phone. Forgetting all about the food and the tv, I picked up our landline and quickly dialed 911.

"Yes? What's your emergency?"

"You gotta help me!" I cried, almost hyperventilating now. "I just found my roommate in the bathroom! There's blood everywhere and he's out cold!"

The lady on the other end asked for my location and I tried to stop shaking as I read the directions.

"We're sending someone over right away, sir. How long has he been like that?"

"I don't know! I just got in from practice and when I went to the bathroom, he was just lying there!"

"Please calm down, sir," the lady said calmly, obviously trying to sooth and comfort even though she had no idea how bad the situation could really be. "Have you checked him to see where he's bleeding?"

"No..."

"Don't move him. Just stay put until the squad arrives," she said firmly. "Do you need me to stay on the line?"

"No, that's alright. Thank you." I hung up slowly after that, then hurried back into the bathroom. I choked and gagged slightly at the sight of all that blood. I was scared that the kid couldn't possibly survive such severe blood loss!

I then crawled awkwardly across the tiles and took a better look at his body. Roxas was wearing a plain white t-shirt, that was now blotched all over with red stains that I tried not to think about, and old jeans that were ripped at the knees. His hands were pressed face-down on the tile, and I was sure I saw a lot of blood pooling beneath his left wrist.

But none of this made any sense to me! Had he really cut himself? Why? I distinctly remembered saying to him at some point during move in, "Hey, if you ever need to talk or anything, if I'm around, come find me." But I _had _sort of said it in passing, and besides, he had to have done this sometime before I got home. I refused to believe I was such a shitty roommate that I had failed to hear him try to take his own life, when I was just down the hall!

"R-Roxas...?" I whispered nervously, reaching out my hand to touch his face. He looked really pale, and his skin felt really wet and clammy. He groaned a little when I turned his head slightly, and I let out a heavy sigh of relief. He was still alive, at least for right now. That meant there was still hope, right?

"Can you hear me, kid?"

It was then that the help came. I watched as they pushed me aside, lifting him and carrying him to the ambulance parked out front. A bunch of kids from the surrounding buildings had come out to see what was going on, and they shot me weird stares when I came out after them. As I followed the men to the ambulance, I heard little bits of conversation here and there.

"Who's that kid?"

"What do you think happened to him?"

"Beats me...Some people just can't handle college life..."

I growled a little, getting angrier and angrier the more I heard. These kids had no right to judge like that! They didn't even know Roxas! Though, in all fairness, neither did I. Not really, anyways...

The people tending to Roxas asked me if I wanted to ride in the back with them, and I said yes. I didn't have a car yet, so it was that or the bus, and I'm pretty sure most of them had stopped running by that point. I sat and watched quietly as they hooked the kid up to an I.V. and ordered the driver to step on it. The whole ride there, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I was consumed by one small, but all-encompassing thought.

"Please be okay..."


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry I didn't update sooner! My mac got a cd jammed in it somehow and I sent it in to be fixed. It was gone for 4 days (TwT) but it's back now! :)

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We got separated once we reached the hospital; I let go of his hand for one second and the next, he was gone. The front desk asked me for info on him, but sad to say, I wasn't much help.

I felt awful. Just...awful. I had no idea where any of this had come from, and the nurse just looked at me blankly before digging through a folder and calling Roxas's parents.

Apparently, his family lived an hour or so away. His twin brother, Sora, was still at the same college near home, and Roxas had been there last year before he transferred. That was interesting. I wonder what could've made him move here, to this tiny little college town in the middle of the mountains? He was from the city, where all the real excitement was.

This place was really the fanciest school I could afford. It was a decent step above community college, but certainly not prestigious enough to get me into whatever med or law school I wanted. Nah, I'd have to work my ass off and bring up my GPA for that.

...Sorry. I must be some kinda dickhead. Taking away from Roxas when I'm at one of the craziest parts of the story. Rox _did _tell me before that I was one of the most selfish, arrogant bastards he ever met.

I was up all night worrying about the little guy. Then, at some ungodly hour of the morning, his parents showed up. Or I should say his dad showed up. I had no idea his mom had been dead for years and his stepmom was too busy with work to come see her own stepson when he was clearly in so much pain.

I waited outside the door with that Sora kid for quite a while. He seemed cool; the exact opposite of my first impression of Roxas. Except that he was really cute, just like his brother, and now that I had looked into both of their eyes, I finally saw how those eyes should shine, and the full extent of the pain I'd been ignoring in Roxas's.

I felt relieved when Sora didn't blame me one bit for his brother's actions. It felt nice then, but really, I had been to stupid and buried in my own world to see that my roommate was hurting so much.

"DON'T YOU EVER PULL A STUNT LIKE THIS AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?" I heard through the door as Sora winced slightly. "BUT IF YOU REALLY FEEL YOU _HAVE _TO GO, AT LEAST CALL ME AND TELL ME SO I DON'T WASTE NEXT YEAR'S TUITION!"

So he was one of those types who got daddy to pay for college. Heh, lucky little bastard. What the hell could he have thought was so bad he had to ditch out on that?

The door burst open and Cloud glared between us for one moment, then turned and stomped down the hall. Sora looked hesitant for a moment, like he was torn between going into the room and following his father out-

"COME ON, SORA!" The man bellowed from down the hall, causing us both to jump. "LET THAT UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SHIT THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A WHILE!"

The spiky-haired brunette sighed heavily, shooting me a sad look. His deep blue eyes were so eerily similar to his brother's now, with that forlorn, longing look...but longing for what, I wondered? Right now they were pleading with me to do what he couldn't. I nodded, and he smiled sadly, turning reluctantly and going down the hall to the elevator.

When the doors were shut, I turned back to the room. I couldn't hear anything coming from inside, so I wondered if the kid went back to sleep or something, but I had nothing else to do right now. I figured I should check on him.

The door creaked slightly as I opened it, revealing an all white room lit with fluorescent lights. At the far end sat Roxas, still in his hospital bed with an I.V. tube trailing from his arm. He wasn't asleep, although his eyes were tightly shut and his fists were clenching tightly in the sheets.

I walked over slowly, cautiously, and tapped on the metal bed frame.

"Rox?"

The kid gasped softly, and his eyes snapped open and met mine immediately. They were wet, with little tears gathering in the corners of his eyes and threatening to stream down his cheeks at any minute.

"A-Axel?" His voice was dry and soft, like maybe he needed a drink or something. "W-Why are you-"

"Don't give me that, 'Why are you here' shit, Roxas!" I snapped, suddenly angry as I approached his bed. Well, I had intended to come in and comfort him, make him feel better and maybe sneak him some candy from the vending machine. You know, cause candy makes everything better. Or at least, that's what they tell you when you go to see a doctor.

Well, there went _that_ plan. "You tried to kill yourself, didn't you? I came home and found you bleeding on the tiles! Why the hell wouldn't you tell me?"

I had no idea where this frustration was coming from. All things considered, I barely knew the kid. I mean, yeah, I'm still a human being. Who wouldn't be upset by shit like this? Maybe it was because I was his roommate and didn't know that he was in that much pain. Or maybe because he should have had the courage to come and talk to me about, and he just chose not to.

But that didn't explain why I just felt...so mad about all this...

Those blue eyes narrowed at me, his eyebrows furrowing angrily as well.

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" he shouted back at me. I blinked, dumbfounded for a moment.

"Rox-"

"No, _you _listen, Axel! Don't _you _give me that shit!" Roxas snapped back, "You didn't care! No body cares! Maybe I wanted this, huh? Did you ever think of that?"

I didn't know what to say. There was a faint boiling in my heart though, stronger than what I had felt before, rising up...

"I _wanted _to go! Maybe then I could be with my mother! She was the only one who-"

Even as I was still registering my shock and disgust at his words, my hand flew out on its own and smacked him hard in the face. I'd never seen Roxas show this much emotion before, and as cool as it would be if he reacted to _something, _I knew that this wasn't cool at all.

The angry sob stopped mid sentence, and blue eyes widened again as they looked up at me, terrified. Slowly, his hand slid up and slid over his tender cheek, feeling the burning, stinging skin nervously.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. Yelling wouldn't do us any good now; Roxas was already upset enough, but I had to say my peace on this one.

"You listen up, Roxas," I said firmly, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at me. I placed my hand over his where it rested on his bruised cheek and looked into those tearing blue eyes that looked so pained. "I _do _care, alright? If I didn't care, I wouldn't have called the ambulance and gotten you here before you really did die."

He tried to look away, and I just pulled his face closer.

"I don't _want_ you to die..."

His breath hitched softly at that, and before I even knew how it happened, I was kneeling on the bed, holding the sobbing little blond in my arms. He started off quietly at first, only sniffling and burying his head in my chest, but soon enough he was crying loudly, his voice cracking harshly at the overuse and lack of water.

"I hate you..." he whispered finally, his words muffled slightly as his fists clenched into my shirt. "I hate you..."

I sighed, a bit annoyed by this point. But still, I pressed his head into the crook of my neck and patted it softly, humming a little to calm him down.

"No you don't..."


	4. Chapter 4

In a few days, I brought Roxas back home with me. The doctors said that he could be out and about, but recommended that I keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't try anything again. One of the doctors had even suggested therapy for him, but his dad wasn't too thrilled about that. I pulled Roxas out of the room before the conversation got too ugly, but I heard enough to know it would upset him again.

_"I'M NOT COUGHING UP ANY MORE MONEY FOR THAT UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SHIT!"_

So I helped him pack up his stuff and moved him back into our place, hoping he would feel more comfortable there. I wanted to get him to talk about it a little, but for a while I had no such luck. All he would do was sit on his bed, or the couch all day; even if the t.v. was on, I highly doubted he was actually watching. There was a blankness to his eyes that I hadn't noticed before; it permeated a sense of hopelessness and sadness every time I looked into them. Heh…permeated. Big word for me, eh?

But yeah. It left me feeling a bit hollow myself, and I didn't take to the feeling too well.

After his little episode in the hospital, he didn't talk to me much at all. He never seemed like the type to be a chatterbox, but at the same time, I had hoped our little exchange in the hospital would have opened him up to me a little. Really, how long could he keep this up? All I ever managed to get out of him were one or two words., usually "thank you's" if I brought him food, or "please" if I offered him something. But even that wasn't much. One night, I bought us some chinese food and he barely even touched the chicken lo mein.

The kid was really starting to worry me.

Two weekends later, I was fed up with him not talking. So I came into the living room, seeking out my prey easily. He was sitting on that same couch watching what looked like "Cake Boss," this show where this dude yells at his guys and makes cakes for people. A bunch of them are real jerks, too, but I digress. I only leave it on while I'm studying.

I grabbed the remote and flipped off the T.V., grabbing his wrist before he could pull away. When he looked at me questioningly, all I said was, "Come on. We're going out."

"What do you mean? Out where?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow skeptically.

"To the park."

I dragged him out to the old park near the outskirts of town. I made him sit on one of the little benches and grabbed us both these blue popsicle things. Sea salt flavored, I think. I use to eat them a lot more as a kid.

He stared at the bar blankly for a moment before giving it a tentative lick. I watched him blink and eye the popsicle with a new look of surprise.

"It's good," he whispered, and I felt a smile tugging at my cheeks. "Salty, but kind of sweet. One doesn't overpower the other."

"That's what's nice about it. Yep." I bit a huge chunk off the end of mine and sighed as the coolness ran down my throat. I wasn't sure what to say after that point, and I guess he felt the same, so I watched the trees swaying in the wind, and a few scattered kids playing here and there. Roxas seemed to be preoccupied with his feet, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, and he gave a little sigh.

"Thanks," he mumbled softly, and I nodded. The cheap park ice cream wasn't that big a deal. He raised his head and met my gaze, eyes betraying the slightest hint of vulnerability. "Do you….want to talk about something?"

I didn't want to blow it by being overly worried or pushy. That was probably the last thing that would get him to open up. But this did feel incredibly awkward. I felt like we'd both been walking on egg shells around each other since he came home.

I went with a shrug, and another bite of my popsicle. "Not really. If you don't need to, you don't need to. I just figured some time out was good for the both of us."

He nodded shyly, dropping his gaze back to the toes of his shoes again. "Thanks….for looking out for me, I mean."

"It's no big," I replied casually. "We're roommates. We should look out for each other."

He didn't say anything, and instantly I felt bad for ignoring his pain for so long. It's not like it was really my fault; I had no reason to suspect, and it wasn't as though we were great friends before. I probably still didn't have the slightest idea what he was feeling now. But knowing that someone near me- and by near I mean living with me- that that person was THAT sad, and I didn't know and couldn't do anything about it, it made me feel helpless. Maybe a little worthless. And I don't do worthless well.

Maybe it's just the guilt that made me want to be his buddy now. Part of me resents it, that I've taken on the role of his babysitter. He should be a big boy, take care of himself. But obviously not….

I wished he would talk to me, but I couldn't force him. I was a little impatient, but I tried not to show it. Looking over at him then, as he sat there silently, I began to notice how cute he was. Beautiful, really, but sort of haunting. He was too pale, too thin; not like I should talk, but because of the blood loss and his refusal of most food, the kid looked like a walking ghost. But his eyes were deep blue, and even hollow and empty, they were beautiful. Hauntingly beautiful. And his hair looked soft and fluffy and adorable.

I'm probably the world's biggest, horniest douche bag for sitting there sizing up this suicidal kid like that. He noticed me looking and blushed a bit, but whether he could read my mind or simply felt uncomfortable with my stare, I couldn't tell. But it was really cute.

How could Roxas not know this? How could he not see how much he had going for him?

I sat with him for a while longer, forcing my eyes to drift elsewhere and relaxed. I stretched out a bit on the bench and leaned back, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face. I like warm, and bright and sunny. Days like this were perfect for me. Birds chirping, kids shouting off in the distance, but mostly quiet. It was so peaceful and pleasant, away from cramped college dorms and poorly lit classrooms. Or bars and parties, for that matter.

Sometimes a guy just needed a break.

I glanced over at one point and chuckled. Roxas had followed suit at some point and relaxed against the bench. Only he had actually dozed off. I smiled and leaned closer, chuckling when I saw the tiniest hint of saliva at the corner of his lips. His head was tilted towards me ever so slightly, and the popsicle stick that had been once clenched in his hand lay in his lap, right by his hand. I paused a moment, then decided to take the risk. I gently patted his head.

Poor kid.

I pulled him closer to me and rested his head on my shoulder. It was probably more comfortable that way, and besides, I'd never pass up the opportunity to have a cute blonde asleep on my arm. How did I not notice this kid before again?

Oh right. He's quieter than a mouse and twice as shy. And has a ton of issues. Sigh…

Maybe I could help him out a bit someday. I thought about it as I watched the clouds pass by overhead, slowly falling asleep as well. There had to be more to him, and if I could just bring it out…..Maybe a part of me was just being selfish, but I wanted to get him to trust me.

Maybe I could show him how great he really was….


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, Roxas?"

The kid looked up from his spot on the couch, blinking at me. I looked over his shoulder for a second to see what was on. More girlie reality shows?

When he didn't say anything, like I should have expected, I laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of my head.

"Hey. So, my sister and her friends are gearing up for homecoming and they want me to go dress-shopping with them. Not that I know good dresses or anything!" I hurried to explain. "They just want a guy's opinion." The least I could tell was whether or not it was flattering, but was the dress in style? Yeah, I have no idea.

"So?"

"So...I was wondering if you would go with me." He blinked a little again.

"Why?"

I sighed. "Okay, I'm going to level with you. I really don't want to go, but I owe Kairi a favor and she's calling it now. I would have asked my friends to go with me, but they're in class. I need someone there to keep me sane." Not to mention the kid could use some time out of this place. He was still very much a shut in, but I didn't say that. It might make him feel bad.

"So, what do you say?"

Roxas looked like he wanted to refuse, but he seemed conflicted about it. Like maybe a part of him did want to go. I smiled. Ever since that day in the park, he seemed a little more open around me. Not a whole lot still, but hey, we were making progress. I had to take what little opportunities he gave me and make the most of them.

"Come on! Be a pal!" I offered a hand up from the couch, which he stared at for what felt like an eternity. I just stood there, frozen, smiling like an idiot and wiggling my eyebrows. No one can resist that face. Trust me, I've tried it on just about everyone. It's just so doofy.

Finally, he cracked a small smile, taking my hand with a sigh.

"Alright. But I need to be back by 7 to study for statistics."

I pumped my fist. "Yes! Thanks you so much! Remind me later that I owe you a big ass pizza or something!" With that, I ran off to my room, throwing on some pants and my socks and tennis shoes.

I did it! I got him out of the house of his own free will!

I dragged him over to the mall, which thankfully was only about five blocks from our apartment. Kairi was waiting there with her little gang. To a passing stranger, if you could ignore the different hair colors, they all looked like sisters. Aqua was the one senior in the group, but she looked like she should have been in college already. Everyone else was a junior like Kairi, and I smiled as her little dark-haired friend, Xion, waved us over. I liked her a lot; she always had a good head on her shoulders.

"Bout damn time you got here," Kairi snapped, tapping her foot on the sidewalk. She glared from me to Roxas, and he shrank back behind me, looking very nervous.

"Hey, not all of us got a car for our last birthday," I snarked back. I asked for a car, and I got a computer. How's that for being born under a bad sign?

"Whatever." She motioned for everyone to follow her and went into the mall. I noticed several of the girls, including Xion, hanging back a ways, though, looking at Roxas curiously. He was blushing and trying to keep his eyes on his shoes. I wondered…had he ever been around this many people at once?

My awesome brain sadly didn't give me an answer, but it did inform me of how cute Roxas looked, all shy and quiet and blushy like that.

"So who's he?" Xion asked, giving me a mischievous smile. "Your new boyfriend?"

"B-Boyfriend?!" If it was even possible, Roxas turned even redder. He looked horrified, but I just laughed it off.

"Try roommate. He's kind of shy, though, and doesn't know a lot of people, so I thought bringing him out here might help some." That was an understatement, but close enough to the truth without embarrassing him. The incident had toned down a bit over at the college, thankfully, so people weren't bringing it up much or recognizing him as "that suicidal kid" anymore. I'm glad; he didn't need everyone pointing it out to him like he was stupid. Seemed like it would be shit living it, so how could he _not _know?

Xion nodded, her expression gentling a bit as she turned to Roxas.

"I'm Xion," she said, taking his hand and shaking it in her usual upbeat, jerky way. Roxas looked a little surprised, returning the gesture hesitantly. "Kairi is Axel's sister over there, if you haven't guessed. Red-headed devils, the both of them."

"Hey now," I said, mocking offense as she laughed. Even Roxas smiled a little wider, more naturally. Have I mentioned how cute he is? The smile looked even better on him.

Looking from the girls to Roxas, I thought to myself that he could pass as one of them. Small, girlish, and cute. I probably shouldn't share that though.

Xion went around the group, pointing people out by name. There was a blonde named Namine, who was pretty and sweet but very quiet. A lot like Roxas, actually, although I didn't think she was unhappy or anything. Xion told me she was artsy. She waved back, and I felt a little swell of jealous when he smiled at her. Why, I don't know, but they looked kind of…good together.

There were also two brunettes; Olette and her younger sister Selphie. They could be cute sometimes, like the Olson twins when they were young, but they had some annoying bimbo moments too. Like mini Paris Hiltons. I was fine with not seeing them often.

And, of course, the one with blue hair was Aqua, the older sister figure to all the girls. She was actually held back in school for a while til she stopped being a crazy biker chick and got her act together. She kept her back and arm tats but dumped her douchey boyfriend for a nice guy named Terra, and seemed to be doing well ever since. I knew her the longest, besides Kairi and Xion of course, and figured she'd get into a decent college sometime. Her grades had improved a lot, and she did a lot of charity stuff in her spare time.

All in all, I liked Kairi's little group of friends. My sister was a huge brat to me and sometimes to them, but she and they were pretty good girls, considering how bitchy some chicks can be. And I got the sense her friends only put up with so much bullshit.

"So what's your name?" Xion asked my roommate as we walked.

"Roxas," the kid replied softly. He looked like he was a bit overwhelmed. Maybe it was a mistake, being in a group this big right now. I wasn't sure if something like that would make him relapse. Was that even a good word for this?

But Xion just smiled widely, slinging an arm over his shoulders.

"Nice to meet you, Roxas! So, what stuff do you like to do?"

"Not much," he said softly. Almost too softly. "I study and watch t.v. sometimes."

Try all the time.

"Huh. Have you just not found more fun stuff to do?"

He blushed, looking ashamed for some reason. Roxas began dragging his feet a little then too, only keeping up with the group because Xion had a hold on him.

"I-I…I guess. I'm sorry I'm not more interesting…"

"He's plenty interesting," I said quickly, drawing curious looks from the girls and a mortified one from Roxas. "He doodles all the time when he should be studying. Makes the cutest face too, all serious and concentrated."

The kid looked stuck between wanting to shut me up and ask if he really did make a weird face. He seemed very nervous when even the smallest bit of attention settled on him. I'd met nervous and shy people before, but none that were that awkward. How often did he talk to people, and what did he talk to them about?

Namine put a hand on his shoulder and smiled, and for a moment, I forgot my wonderings. I felt kind of jealous again, seeing her touch him so casually like that. Like they were old friends.

"Can I see your drawings sometime?" she asked, sounding earnestly interested.

"O-Oh, but they're not all that special," he mumbled, hesitantly meeting her eyes. She laughed a little.

"It's okay. I just like to watch people. What and how they draw fascinates me."

"How come you always laugh at my drawings then?" Selphie chimed in, turning so she could walk backwards and placing her hands on her hips.

"Selphie, you draw stick figures."

"They're still legit doodles though!"

Xion laughed. "Legit for a fourth grader maybe!"

"Shut up! You bitches are just jealous because I have the best fashion sense!"

"What does that have to do with anything? You can't draw clothes either."

The girls fell into giggling, light-hearted squabbles, letting Roxas relax a little as the spotlight came off him. He did pay attention to them though, smiling and laughing a little when they did.

When we got to one clothing store in particular, the girls all stopped talking, charging for the clothes racks like a stampede. Roxas and I were left to gape, watching in a mix of awe and horror as everyone, even Namine, joined the throngs of other girls shopping for homecoming, shoving, tugging, tearing, and even scratching at other customers eyeing the same size 4 dress.

Everyone except Aqua, who shrugged, waved at us, and walked off. She went into a music and media store just around the corner. Knowing her, she'd be shopping for a dress somewhere cheaper, like goodwill or maybe something slightly nicer. She was more frugal than the other girls, but then, her parents didn't give her a ton of money like theirs did. She actually had to work, and her money was probably going towards college.

Then I looked to the changing rooms in the back, and winced. There was a huge line waiting just outside, with the girls there only behaving a little better. They all looked tired but determined, almost grim in a way.

"Something tells me this is going to take a while," I said, looking down at Roxas.

"Uh-huh." He looked more than a little nervous now, but smiled awkwardly as he turned to me. "I don't know anything about dresses…"

I suddenly got a mental image of Roxas in a sexy, slinky black dress, and clapped a hand over my mouth, snickering. My brain is so random and whacked out sometimes.

"Wh-What's so funny?" my roommate squeaked, looking a bit distressed now.

"Heh…nothing, Roxas. Just thought of something funny just now."

"O-Of me?"

I gave him a sidelong grin. "Maaaaaybe."

After some more half-hearted requests for explanation, Roxas gave up, and we watched the girls for another few minutes in more companionable silence. Kairi had found two dresses, one pick and one purple, but couldn't seem to decide which she liked better. She could just take them both into the change room and save time, but my sister was a stubborn one. She claimed to have the best fashion sense and that she could find the perfect dress in a snap.

So then why did she need me here?

"Want to get some food and come back later?" I asked.

Roxas jumped a little, then smiled and shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Well, I need something even if you don't, kid." I turned and looked at him, feeling a little pang of worry when I saw how pale he looked. "I haven't eaten since this morning. Have you?"

He looked a little embarrassed at the question, lowering his head.

"I didn't eat yet today."

"Seriously? Jesus Christ, Rox!" I grabbed him by the wrist and began tugging him away from the store. As funny as it was to watch girls devolve into animals in the heat and excitement of materialism, there was more important stuff going on here.

"W-Where are you taking me?"

I rolled my eyes. "The food court. Duh! I'm going to buy us both lunch, and you're going to eat every bite on that plate."

"I-I…okay."


End file.
